1. Field of the Invention
Example embodiments of the present invention relate to a method of manufacturing a powder having a high surface area. More particularly, example embodiments of the present invention relate to a method of manufacturing a powder having a high surface area capable of being used in an electrode included in electronic equipment and increasing a specific surface area so as to improve electrical characteristics of the electrode.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, active research on a method of manufacturing an electrode for energy storage devices such as catalysts, solar cells, fuel cells, lithium secondary batteries and super-capacitors in chemical sensors, gas sensors and bio-sensors, and a method of manufacturing metal and metal oxide particles in the field of electrics & electronics such as electromagnetic wave shielding and absorbing agents has been conducted.
For example, studies to produce clean hydrogen energy having excellent economic feasibility and effectiveness and apply the hydrogen energy to hydrogen fuel cells using fine metal particles have been conducted to develop new & renewable energy in order to preserve the global environments. With the growing importance of the metal oxide particles as a cathode active material of the lithium secondary battery, studies to improve performance through structural control have also been conducted actively. In addition, the super-capacitor receiving attention as a next-generation secondary battery has been used as the concept of an auxiliary power unit using a typical carbonaceous material. However, as research on a pseudo-capacitor using a metal oxide electrode replaceable for the lithium secondary battery is being currently conducted, various studies to expand surface areas of a metal electrode and a metal oxide electrode has also been conducted. Research and development of a dye-sensitized solar cell or a thin-film solar cell using metal nanoparticles has been carried out to improve energy conversion efficiency in the field of solar cells. Also, there is active research conducted to enhance specific surface areas of various gas sensors, sensors for detecting chemicals, or bio-sensors for use as an electrode and a catalyst. Especially as bad effects of harmful electromagnetic waves caused with current development of various kinds of portable electronic equipment have been raised as a serious social issue, ardent research using metal particles has been conducted to effectively shield or absorb the electromagnetic wave.
However, such metal particles or metal oxide particles has problems in that they are mainly present in a particulate shape converted from a bulky shape by a physical or chemical method, or lots of the manufacturing cost and process time caused by use of various kinds of vacuum equipment and a method including multi-step processes are required to manufacture the particles. Therefore, the metal particles or metal oxide particles remains to be improved.
For example, as methods of manufacturing a micro- or nano-sized metal powder, a mass-production process using an electrical wire explosion through application of high-voltage electric energy, a manufacturing method using a current mode in a vacuum, a physical production method that is a top-down technology, a gas evaporation/condensation method undergoing heating, cooling and condensation processes, a synthesis method using a mechanical mixing process, etc. have been currently developed. These methods have problems in that the micro- or nano-sized metal powder is manufactured through very complicated processes, but does not have a high specific surface area as a metal powder having small spherical, linear and belt-type shapes. Therefore, to solve these problems, research conducted to increase a specific surface area of the metal particles under the control of the structure of the metal particles to maximize performance is required to solve the above problems. Also, methods in which the metal and metal oxide particles are manufactured with the relatively low cost and through minimum processes are essentially required.